Port Police battle with inadequate patrol boats, vehicles at port

David Adebayo

Port Authority Police Western Command is battling with inadequate patrol boats and vehicles to discharge its mandate at the seaports.
Despite this the command said that it recorded five stowaway cases and prosecuted 20 suspects at Lagos magistrates’ courts between April and August 2026.
The Police Commissioner in charge of the command, Toyin Agbaminoja disclosed this at the Nigerian Ports Consultative Council (NPCC) quarterly meeting in Lagos. Agbaminoja noted that five stowaway cases involving 20 suspects were charged, including cases handled in collaboration with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigerian Navy (NN), adding that the command also recorded six stealing cases and one case of false pretence, which were awaiting trial in court.
The commissioner cited the lack of modern gunboats for marine operations and inadequate accommodation as challenges affecting effective policing and trade facilitation.
Also, the NIS’s Seaports/Marine Command said that it cleared 1,118 arriving vessels carrying 24,378 crew members between April and August, including 969 departing vessels with 21,942 crew members within the period.
Its Comptroller, Clementina Ogbudu explained that the command recorded 25 stowaway suspects, comprising three Ghanaians, one Beninese and one Cameroonian.

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